It was a twenty-minute trip, but since I needed to stall for forty, I stopped by a cafe? near Dora’s place.

    She’d probably be parched after cleaning, so I figured I’d grab her a drink while I waited.

    I had plenty to do in forty minutes.

    Being outside the office meant I could finally watch native highlight clips without worrying about someone looking over my shoulder.

    So, after a grueling forty minutes of holding back laughter in a corner of the cafe? to preserve my dignity as a working adult, I grabbed a peppermint tea—Dora’s favorite—and headed to her apartment.

    [Me: I’m here.]

    But when I arrived at her door, there was no immediate response.

    I pressed my ear against the door, just in case—

    CRASH. THUNK. CLATTER.

    The unmistakable sounds of plastic falling and rolling echoed from inside.

    I told her to clean, not demolish her apartment.

    She wouldn’t have messed with the soundproof booth, would she?

    I rang the doorbell.

    Ding-dong.

    Still no response.

    This time, I knocked firmly.

    Knock knock knock knock knock.

    Unfortunately, my hands were small, so the sound came out just as tiny.

    It was loud enough to be heard over the commotion inside, but there was still no reply.

    Was she wearing headphones?

    Not long ago, she had posted about buying a fancy new pair, saying that connecting them to her sound card was like stepping into a whole new world.

    Ever since I became cute, I kept running into situations like this.

    But this was my job on the line, so it was a little more concerning.

    "As long as she doesn’t touch the computer, it should be fine."

    She probably wouldn’t.

    Then again, I suddenly remembered a chat from a few days ago...

    [Dora: Don’t be like that, I’ll just pretend my equipment is broken.]

    [Dora: Let’s all meet up at my place, hahaha.]

    [Parallel Operations Team - Magia: Please keep that kind of talk out of group chats I’m in.]

    [Dora: Hng.]

    ... It should be fine.

    Dora had moments of genius, but would she really go this far just to get me to come over?

    "Maybe I should just wait ten minutes."

    Even when she was late to streams and made a dramatic fuss about taking her punishment, it was never more than five or ten minutes.@@@@

    Two more highlight clips, and she should be done.

    It was cold outside, but since this was a self-contained apartment complex, the elevator hall was indoors.

    I folded my coat into a makeshift cushion and crouched in a corner of the hallway next to her door.

    The floor was chilly, but the building’s ventilation system kept the hallways warm.

    After watching two clips, the chaotic cleaning noises inside finally stopped.

    Almost as if on cue, my phone rang.

    I swiped to answer while knocking on the door.

    "I''m outside."

    [Ahhh, I’m so sorry...! I was blasting music through my headphones and didn’t hear my phone...]

    "It’s fine. Open the door."

    I dusted off my coat as I waited, and—beep!—the door lock clicked open.

    Dora appeared in the doorway, looking a bit disheveled.

    Thankfully, she was wearing dolphin shorts this time.

    The first time I visited, she had sprinted out in just her underwear, nearly giving me a heart attack.

    "Sorry for not seeing your messages right away... Did you wait long?"

    After locking the door behind me, I muttered with a blank expression,

    "Not really. More importantly, I’m just relieved you’re wearing pants."

    "Ughhh, I told you to forget about that! And it wasn’t underwear, it was pants-less fashion!"

    "Either way, you weren’t wearing pants."

    "Uuu..."

    Uuu, my ass.

    She wasn’t even wearing a long top that time.

    If someone else had seen her like that before I did...

    I didn’t even want to think about it.

    Since she had claimed to clean, I glanced around.

    Sure enough, the place looked tidier than my last visit.

    The only suspicious thing was a moving box sitting in the middle of the living room.

    I should brace myself.

    “I added your soda.”

    “Thank youuuu... Hehe.”

    Since I had already placed Dora’s order, I figured I should pick something for myself too.

    I backed out to the main screen and searched for pizza.

    Dora, who had been peering over my shoulder, immediately asked,

    “Huh? You’re not getting steak with me?”

    “I’m in the mood for pizza today.”

    I had just suggested ordering separately, but Dora mumbled to herself, looking conflicted.

    “Now that you mention it... I kinda want pizza too.”

    “What about the steak?”

    “...Sorry. Can you cancel it?”

    Now?

    “You don’t have to cancel. Why not just get both?”

    “Ugh. I’m not a pig. I can’t eat that much.”

    “I’ll eat too.”

    Dora wordlessly placed her hand on top of my head.

    “As if that matters~ You’ll just eat one slice and say you’re full.”

    Then she grinned at me.

    Ah. She was counterattacking.

    I called her a “tiny dumbass” earlier, so now she was taking a jab at me for eating like a sparrow.

    She wasn’t wrong.

    Ever since I shrunk, my portions had naturally dropped to about half of what they used to be.

    But challenging me to a petty comeback battle? How naive.

    I was immune to short jokes.

    “I should ask your YouTube editor to make a highlight compilation of your hiccup fails.”

    “You...!”

    Despite being way taller than me, she puffed out her cheeks in protest.

    It was kind of cute.

    Since she kept reacting, I couldn’t help but tease her.

    It was the same when dealing with the CEO—if someone treated me casually, my inner troll instinctively kicked in.

    But I was still her manager, and this was technically work.

    I needed to dial it back a little.

    “Kidding. Anyway, what kind of pizza do you want? We’ll order both steak and pizza, and whatever’s left, you can pack for later.”

    Dora, who had been seconds away from bursting, immediately deflated.

    “I’ll just eat whatever you pick. I already got what I wanted with the steak, hehe.”

    She was going to regret that.

    Without hesitation, I completed the order and showed her my choice.

    Dora took one look at my screen and recoiled in horror.

    “Never mind. I don’t want pizza anymore.”

    Hearing that actually pissed me off.

    What the hell was wrong with pineapple pizza?

    ***

    — Dora (VTuber) Gallery —

    [Wait, is there a collab today?]

    — View on Z —

    Akari Dora ? @Akari_Dora - 1 min ago

    (Photo)

    How can anyone eat something as vile as pineapple pizza? ????

    ———————————————

    Dora almost never posts food pics unless she’s collabing.

    [Comments]

    — Dora185: Did she invite Komari?

    ? Dora351: Nah, Komari’s in ranked games all day. She can’t join.

    ? Dora351: And Komari hates Hawaiian pizza.

    — Dora874: I don’t think she has anyone to collab with today.

    ? Dora716 (OP): That’s why I’m asking.

    ? Dora716 (OP): The CEO is streaming tonight too.

    — Dora (VTuber) Gallery —

    [I have uncovered the truth.]

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

    This is true domain expansion.

    No, but seriously, I never would''ve guessed she was a pineapple pizza person. ????????????

    [Comments]

    — Dora185: What the f***, tell me too.

    — Dora157: This dude is laughing.

    — Dora951: Hey, you too?

    ? Dora363 (OP): You too?

    ? Dora910: Reported for clique behavior.

    ? ????Dora1: Hey, you guys too?

    ? ????Dora01: Mod, you too?

    ? Dora240: Even the admin?

    ? Dora932: Are we pretending we don’t know?

    ? Dora910: ?????????